Buy in haste .......

[jhluxton]

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"Buy in haste – regret at leisure" or so the old saying goes.

 

I have read with interest the disappointments over the M8.

 

Whilst I would like to obtain one of these, not having an M system I would find the total costs rather high and probably will opt for the Digilux 3 as an upgrade to my D2.

 

However, I think that all new digital technology needs to be treated with caution – it is not in the same league as mechanical / analogue.

 

Many moons ago I ordered a then state of the art PC which was one of the first batches of Intel 386 machines. I paid a fortune for this; if memory serves it was over £2000.

 

Within a year the price of this computer almost halved – and myself having taken out a loan to finance the purchase felt a bit peeved! My outstanding loan balance was still more than the current cost of the same machine which was now being shipped with a hard disk of twice the capacity!

 

This taught me a few things about high tech items – don’t buy on first release – wait that bit longer. Let prices stabilise and any bugs are usually fixed.

 

Early next year MS Vista machines will go on retail sale. My current PC could do with upgrading but I will wait until late summer before buying a new machine. By then most of the common bugs will be ironed out and being Microsoft there will be a few!

 

A similar trend has been noted with Leica digital products. On announcement I decided I wanted a Digilux 2 – but decided to wait a while. I recall on the forum there were a few grumbles from early purchasers built quality and performance being the discussion points.

 

After a while I bought the D2 and my specimen has been fine, unfortunately I was still caught out because by the autumn of 2004 the D2 was in the UK being offered with a free Leica flash, extra battery and high capacity SD card by many dealers! If only I had waited a bit longer!

 

I didn’t get caught out when changing my binoculars though. When the Ultravids appeared I thought these would make a nice upgrade. Though I waited until the correct moment and as a consequence ended up with a free fleece and waterproof jacket this summer!

 

This time I will wait that bit longer and see what extras / freebies are thrown in to boost sales of the new digital range.

 

Looking through the press ads over the past few year Leica are fairly consistant at giving value enhancing offers at least in the UK across their product range. So I think really a bit of patience will pay off for those that wait!

 

The lesson here is - it pays to be near the back of the queue for the new releases than the front!

 

John

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[Guest stnami]

... or is it twice fleeced and one jacket as bonus

[SteveYork]

There was a principal developed int he 60's during the advent of the computer age that the power of electronics would roughly double every 18 months. This was because every 18 months the companies would double the amount of information that could be put in a silicon chip. And this has remained pretty true for the last 30 years, so I'm told, and that does seem to be the case. I'm no expert, but I don't see digital photography being any different. If there is a slowing of growth in the digital arean, then it probably be more market related, then due to a halt in technological advances.

[gareth_c]

Moore's law I believe is the name...could be wrong though:rolleyes:

[jhluxton]

This was because every 18 months the companies would double the amount of information that could be put in a silicon chip. And this has remained pretty true for the last 30 years, so I'm told, and that does seem to be the case. QUOTE]

 

I have heard similar.

 

The coming of the digital age must have been a godsend to many manufacturers and retailers. Stimulating constant demand by advances in technology.

 

I am convinced many manufacturers have the next two or three step up models in the planning stage at the time their current model is released.

 

I imagine this wasn't the case with film cameras.

 

One thing is for certain none of the current Leica digital range will have a user life anywhere comparable to the film cameras that have gone before.

 

John

[pfogle]

This was because every 18 months the companies would double the amount of information that could be put in a silicon chip. And this has remained pretty true for the last 30 years, so I'm told, and that does seem to be the case. QUOTE]

 

I have heard similar.

 

The coming of the digital age must have been a godsend to many manufacturers and retailers. Stimulating constant demand by advances in technology.

 

I am convinced many manufacturers have the next two or three step up models in the planning stage at the time their current model is released.

 

I imagine this wasn't the case with film cameras.

 

One thing is for certain none of the current Leica digital range will have a user life anywhere comparable to the film cameras that have gone before.

 

John

I don't completely agree with this. Moores law refers to both the speed of processors and the density of memory. It's still more or less valid (no pun intended!).

 

Digital photography has mainly been driven by pixel count, but above about 6MP for P&S or 15MP for larger chips, there isn't really any benefit in adding more pixels - you just get more noise and unmanageable files. Consumer cameras have pretty well peaked at the 6-8MP size, and, apart from medium format, there isn't much drive to push up the pixel count on the 35mm size and larger sensors. So I expect my cameras to be fine for a good 4-5 years. OK, not comparable to an M3, sure, but not disastrous either. My film cameras rarely lasted that long (except the M3 )